Colorado Lamb And Couscous Crostini Food

CROSTINI - 8 DELICIOUS WAYS!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 160°C / 320°F (all oven types).
• Brush bread with oil, sprinkle with salt, flip and repeat. Bake 5 minutes.
• Remove, then rub the surface lightly with garlic. Bake for a further 5 minutes until completely crispy, then remove and leave to cool fully before adding toppings.
• Place all ingredients except balsamic glaze in a bowl and gently toss. Taste and add more salt & pepper if desired. Spoon onto crostini, then drizzle with balsamic glaze. Done!
• Mix cream cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper. Spread on crostini, then fold salmon pieces on top. Top with 3 capers and sprig of dill each. Serve!
• Finely chop antipasto mix. Smear crostini with ricotta, pile on antipasto. Ready!
• Cook prawns: Toss prawns with 1 tbsp oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Preheat large skillet over high heat with 1 tbsp olive oil. Add half the prawns and sauté until just cooked. Remove, then repeat with remaining prawns.
• Cool, then chop into 0.75cm / 1/3" pieces and transfer to bowl. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, eschallots, coriander and lime. Toss, then add more salt and pepper to taste.
• Assemble: Smear crostini with avocado, then spoon on shrimp. Serve! No, wait - Eat one yourself, then serve. Because they'll be gone before you can even put the plate down, trust me! ????
• Spread crostini with goats cheese. Layer strawberry slices. Drizzle with honey just before serving and sprinkle with thyme leaves.
• Spread crostini with as much English Mustard as you dare(!), then cream cheese. Drape with a slice of beef, top with sprig of rocket.
• Mix chopped tapenade ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside for at least 30 minutes to let the flavours meld, then taste and add salt if required.
• Spread crostini with goats cheese. Pile on tapenade. Serve!
• Pea puree: Boil peas per packet directions until soft, then drain well. Transfer to small bowl with high sides. Add garlic, parmesan, olive oil, salt and pepper. Blitz with handheld blender stick until smooth. Stir through mint and lemon juice. Set aside to fully cool.
• Prawns: Peel then chop meat into 0.75 - 1 cm pieces.
• Assemble: Smear crostini with pea puree. Pile on prawn, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with parsley and chilli.

ONE-PAN LAMB & COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Rub the lamb with half the harissa paste. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the lamb for 3 mins on each side for medium-rare, or a little longer for well-done. Lift the meat out of the pan and tip in the remaining harissa, the dried fruit and nuts, couscous and chickpeas, then stir to coat in the paste. Take the pan off the heat and pour in the stock. Stir briefly, return the lamb to the pan and cover with a lid or tightly-fitting foil for 10 mins until the couscous has absorbed all the liquid.
• Fluff up the couscous with a fork, season to taste and fold the mint leaves through to serve.

PASTITSIO WITH LAMB AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• For the bechamel sauce: Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a saucepot, and then whisk in the flour 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and season with some salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Cook until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon and adjust the seasoning once more. Pour a ladleful of the sauce into a bowl with the yolks, whisking to temper the eggs before adding into the pot. Stir in the cheese and remove from the heat. For the spicy meat sauce: Heat 2 turns of the pan EVOO in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the lamb and sausage well, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Stir in the bay leaf, garlic, onions and peppers and sprinkle with the rosemary, some salt and pepper. Cook until the onions soften, 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until fragrant, then pour in the wine and reduce by half. Add the stock and tomatoes, breaking them up as they cook, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Throw in the citrus rind and cinnamon stick to mellow the sauce, and simmer until the tomatoes cook down, 30 minutes. Discard the rind, cinnamon stick and bay leaf. For the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente. Just before draining the pasta, add 1 cup of the starchy cooking liquid to your sauce. Beat the egg whites until frothy and combine with the cheese, and then toss with the pasta. For assembly: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with EVOO. Spoon in half of the pasta, then layer with all of the meat sauce followed by the remaining pasta. Pour all of the bechamel on top as the last layer. (Cool and store for a make-ahead meal, bringing to room temperature before baking and serving.) Set the pastitsio on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake until deeply golden on top, 1 hour. Cool 15 to 20 minutes, then cut and serve.

COLORADO LAMB CHOPS WITH AN HERB MARINADE, SOFT POLENTA WITH WILD MUSHROOMS, AND A HIBISCUS GLAZE

Steps:

• For the marinade: In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the marinade. Cut each 1/2 rack into 9 chops, yielding 18 chops (3 chops per person). Rub chops with the marinade. Let marinate for 1 hour at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 6 hours.
• Heat a saute pan and pour oil into the pan when it is hot. Saute the lamb chops. For the Hibiscus Glaze: In a non-reactive saucepan combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 1/2 hour. Strain. Return liquid to a simmer and reduce until syrupy consistency. For the Soft Polenta: Bring water and salt to a boil. Whisk in the polenta. Heat to a very low simmer and cook for 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally. Add the cheeses, butter, and nutmeg and season as needed with salt and pepper. Take the polenta off the heat, wrap well with plastic wrap, and store it in a warm place. The polenta will hold its heat for quite a while. For the Sauteed Mushrooms: Clean the mushrooms as needed. Some can be brushed off, while others may have to be quickly rinsed in water and well drained. Never soak mushrooms, as they will absorb too much water and become soggy when cooked. Cook each variety of mushroom individually because they all cook at different rates.
• Heat a saute pan 2 for minutes over a medium flame. When it is hot, add 1/3 of the vegetable oil. Add the mushrooms and saute until they begin to brown. Add 1/3 of the shallots and 1/3 of the butter. Keep the mushrooms moving in the pan until they are just tender. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Repeat process for the other mushroom varieties.

COLORADO LAMB AND COUSCOUS CROSTINI

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place the pine nuts on a sheet pan and toast until golden, 3 to 5 minutes. Set aside and leave oven on.
• Bring beef stock to a simmer in a small saucepan. Add the butter and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot and remove from the heat. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork and place into a medium bowl. Stir in the toasted pine nuts, lemon zest and juice, tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of the chopped mint, chorizo, feta cheese and all but 3 tablespoons of the cucumber. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside to cool.
• Butterfly the loin, lay in the couscous stuffing and tie with butcher twine.
• In a small bowl combine the cumin, olive oil, salt and pepper, to taste. Brush all sides of the lamb loin with the flavored oil.
• Heat a saute pan big enough to hold the loin, brush with oil. Place the loin in the pan and cook, turning until seared on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a sheet pan to finish cooking in the oven, about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a small stainless bowl, mix the yogurt with the remaining mint and cucumber. To serve, slice couscous Lamb loin and place on toasted crostini.
• Garnish with Yogurt Sauce and Fresh Mint.

SHRIMP SCAMPI CROSTINI

Steps:

• 1. Melt the butter with the oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 10 seconds. Add shrimp, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until just opaque throughout, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• 2. Toast the bread slices in a toaster oven or oven. Top each with 3 to 4 shrimp and drizzle with the pan sauces. Grate the lemon zest directly over the shrimp, then squeeze some lemon juice on top. Serve immediately.

LAMB CHOPS WITH FRUITY COUSCOUS & MINT

Steps:

• Place the lamb in a bowl. Sprinkle over the paprika, half the onion, 1 tbsp vinegar and ½ tbsp oil. Season, then set aside.
• To make the couscous, boil the kettle and tip the couscous into a heatproof bowl. Stir in the pine nuts, dates, lemon zest and half the juice. Pour over 140ml just-boiled water, push the coucous to the sides of the bowl, cover, then leave to stand for 10 mins.
• Heat grill to high. Lift the lamb out of its marinade, grill for 2-3 mins on each side, then rest, wrapped in foil, for 10 mins. Stir half the chopped herbs and some seasoning into the couscous, then add the remaining lemon juice to taste. Mix together the remaining herbs, red onion, vinegar, oil and seasoning to make a herby vinaigrette. Serve the lamb and couscous with the vinaigrette.

SPICY LAMB WITH WARM COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Heat grill to medium. Tip the couscous, chickpeas and lemon zest into a large bowl and pour over the hot stock. Cover with cling film and leave to stand for 10 mins, until all the stock has been absorbed.
• Smear 2 tsp harissa paste over the lamb chops, season to taste, then grill for 3-4 mins each side until crisp outside and medium rare in the middle. Cover, then rest for a few mins. Mix the remaining harissa into the yogurt, then season to taste.
• Fold the rocket through the warm couscous, breaking up any clumps with a fork. Serve with the chops and a drizzle of harrissa and yogurt dressing.

SLOW ROAST RAS EL HANOUT LAMB & COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Using a pestle and mortar or a mini chopper, mash or chop the garlic with a generous pinch of salt, then add the lemon juice, ras el hanout spice mix and olive oil, then pound or chop to a rough paste. Use a small knife to make small incisions all over the lamb. Sit the lamb in a large, shallow casserole dish or deep roasting tin, then rub the paste all over the lamb and into the cuts. Leave at room temperature for 1 hr, or better still cover and chill overnight.
• When ready to cook, heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Scatter the onion wedges around the lamb, then cover the dish with a lid or tightly with foil and roast for 3 hrs. Remove from the oven and uncover. Stir the onions and baste the lamb in the juices, then turn the oven up to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and continue to roast the lamb, uncovered, for 25-30 mins until browned.
• Lift the lamb and onions onto a board to rest and put the kettle on. Stir the couscous and raisins into the lamb dish so they're coated in the roasting juices. Pour over enough boiling water from the kettle to just cover the couscous, then cover the dish and leave for 5 mins. Uncover and fluff the couscous up with a wooden spoon, then stir through the chickpeas, chopped herbs and preserved lemon or lemon juice, and season to taste. Bring the lamb, onions and the couscous to the table to serve.